


Red Eye

by nahtte



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Eventual Happy Ending, Happy Ending, M/M, Marvel Universe, Modern AU, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Stucky - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:57:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nahtte/pseuds/nahtte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Bucky had gotten into fights before but never as bad as this one. Bucky walked out and Steve replayed the scene over and over again in his head. While going through memories of he and Bucky, Steve left their home, vowing only to come back if Bucky was with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Eye

**Author's Note:**

> So... This originally posted like 9 times so sorry about that. Like i said, i did this on my phone, in a car, on my way to Asheville. Again, sorry about that guys. This is the official one, I promise. So after i finally proof read this, months after it was posted, i realized it was trash so i completely rewrote it and now here we are!  
> There may be grammatical or punctuation mistakes, sorry about those.  
> Enjoy!

“No, Steve, It’s not… It’s not about the goddamn money Steve! I want to get married to you! It’s about so much more than just the money benefits… and if you can’t see that then maybe… Maybe I shouldn’t be with you...”

 

Those were the last words Steve heard from Bucky. After that sentence, that declaration, that statement, Bucky stormed away, breaking the door’s hinges on the way out. Steve kept replaying that moment over and over again in his head.

 

The way Bucky’s face fell and his voice kept cracking. All Steve wanted to do was just go back, jump up and tell Bucky that he would do anything for him, absolutely anything, to hold him tight until he no longer felt Bucky’s body shaking, until Bucky’s cries subdued into little murmurs, to hold him until he fell asleep, but in that moment, all Steve could do was just sit and watch. His body froze as his heart crumbled into pieces, while his mind soared of all the ways he would make it up to Bucky.

 

_But I’m never going to get that chance,_ Steve thought.

 

Steve and Bucky had fights before, it wasn’t like this one was the first. Any time it was bad enough for one of them to leave their cozy little apartment, they’d text within the first few hours of being gone, just to say they were ok. If it lasted through the night, they would call each other just to hear their voice before they went to bed, even if they couldn’t stand to see one another.

 

This time was different, though. Bucky didn’t text and Steve just thought, _Oh he’ll call tonight, he wasn’t serious_ , but when Bucky didn’t call that or the next night, Steve realized that Bucky was gone, maybe forever.

 

Since their fight two nights ago, Steve had just been sitting on their couch, his tears now dried up, looking at the broken door, hanging from it’s hinges.

 

Steve had been thinking non-stop for those two days, often coming back to the first time he and Bucky had their first fight. That fight seemed small now, nothing quite like this one, but the memory still caused Steve an array of emotions, from pain all the way to happiness and everything in between.

 

***Flashback***

Steve and Bucky moved in together for a quite a few reasons, Bucky being gone on tour, Steve having health issues, but the most important reason, the two just really missed “the good old days” of (practically)  living together from when they were younger.

 

Everyday when Steve would get back from work, he’d greet Bucky with a sarcastic, “Honey, I’m home!”, to which Bucky would answer in an equally sarcastic tone, “Welcome home, Darling”, before actually asking about their days. They went through this routine everyday during the time that Bucky was home from tour.

 

When Bucky got back from one of his tours, the roles would reverse, with Bucky loudly dropping his army issued duffle on the floor and kicking off his shoes, while Steve ran from where ever he was in the apartment to give his best friend a welcome home hug.

 

During one tour, however, Steve got sick, really sick, “Just another ailment,” He’d joke, coughing weakly.  All through his life, Steve had multiple doctors tell him that they could miraculously cure him of all his illnesses. After a while he learned not to believe it, but when Steve got sick again after being fine for years, he started to believe one particular doctor.

 

This doctor was different, he didn’t say it was for science, that it was for medical advancements, but rather this serum was for the little guys. He said it was for guys like Steve, whose courage was almost as big as their hearts, who hated bullies, but were too frail to do anything about it.

 

This doctor had all of Steve’s past medical records, as well as Steve’s attempt to get into the military like Bucky, to fight for his country, so naturally Steve actually believed this doctor. All the other ones called him an experiment or a subject, but not this one, he actually treated Steve like a human being.

 

When Bucky heard that Steve was in the hospital, he requested an early leave for a family emergency; he got back only a few weeks after Steve was admitted to the hospital. Bucky felt his heart break as he walked into the hospital room. The image took him back to when they were kids and Steve almost lost his life too often for his mom to handle. It reminded Bucky of how terrified he was of losing Steve.

 

Bucky was there through almost all the doctors promising a cure for Steve, and for every one of them he never believed a word they said. Steve was who he was meant to be, it was okay that his body was small and frail, he had a heart of gold and will as strong as iron, and that’s what mattered to Bucky.

 

Bucky stayed at Steve’s side through the first night, as when he got to the hospital Steve was asleep for the night. He pulled up a chair and laid his head beside Steve on the bed, it wasn’t particularly comfortable, but Bucky knew worse, and besides it was Steve.

 

When Steve woke up with Bucky laying next to him, it was almost how they used to do. Bucky started waking up soon after Steve did. It was always easier for Steve to wake up than Bucky, who usually slept in and took a while to actually function after waking. The two sat for quite a few hours just talking, pausing only for Steve to catch his breath every once in awhile. Bucky told Steve about finishing his tour in a few days, he was only allotted the weekend to see Steve.

 

Steve knew Bucky wouldn’t have been givin much time so he made the most of it and so they continued talking. They talked about everything, Bucky’s tour, Steve’s job, fights, trouble Steve got in while Bucky was away, girls they liked (always a difficult subject for Steve), all leading up to Steve telling Bucky about the new doctor.

 

Steve knew that Bucky wouldn’t approve of anything related to somehow “curing” him, but he had to try to explain how this doctor was different than the others.

 

“What if you die! Then what? I know you think he’s different but… Steve they’re all the same!” Bucky got up from beside the bed and started pacing the room.

 

“No, I promise this one’s different, he treated me like a person, not an experiment,” Steve continued, trying to explain to Bucky.

 

Steve already decided that he was going to get the serum, he already signed all the paperwork and it was already scheduled, but Steve still needed Bucky. He was going through the process for himself but also partly for Bucky, so he could stop worrying about Steve, so he wouldn’t have to take what little time Bucky had off to go see Steve in the hospital.

 

Bucky knew that was reason for Steve agreeing to go through the procedure, and to him, Steve was never an inconvenience, that was his best friend, maybe more, but he could never tell him that. Bucky always brought home girls to try and distract himself from Steve, but it never worked, not even when he brought a girl or two for Steve. Bucky cared for Steve and if he died because he couldn’t talk Steve out of the procedure, Bucky could never forgive himself.

 

“Steve, just please-” Bucky’s alarm went off, “I have to catch my flight… I’ll be gone for three more months… just please don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

 

Bucky left the room, taking one last look at Steve, knowing that was the last time he was going to see Steve as he was, little Steve with all his illnesses, his Steve.

 

***Flashback End***

 

That fight seemed trivial now, but Steve still knew how much it hurt Bucky to come back and see Steve completely different. He was still Steve though, and eventually Bucky got used to Steve being just the smallest amount taller than him.

 

Steve replayed those memories over and over in his head, trying to figure out what he did wrong, staring at the broken door, reminiscing all the nights he and Bucky spent together, all while reassuring himself of one thing: Steve needed Bucky, and he was willing to do almost anything to get him back.  

 

Steve slowly got up off that couch for the first time in two days, for something other than food or the bathroom, put on his shoes, grabbed a jacket and keys, and walked out their broken door, leaving their empty home for as long as it took until he came back with Bucky, his Bucky.

 


End file.
